Juno is a nice film. It’s light, charming, mostly well-acted, and I like the soundtrack. It’s poignant in showing the chasm between the idealistic teenage world and the complicated (and sometimes ugly) adult life. It’s a film with a particular world view: about being forced to grow up and making choices for ourselves. I disagree with parts of it, but it does not make the film less cute and moving.
I do think the movie is flawed, though, as the story is skewed by centering on Juno. And I think they traded some charm at the expense of reality. I’ve read somewhere that the movie is remarkable because Juno’s character is not a stereotype. I’m not too sure about that, since it’s as if she’s the opposite kind of stereotype: Indie, sarcastic, sounds-like-she’s-30-years-old. And in trying to be light-hearted and focused, they skip out on some of the painful realities of pregnancy. I also think that the film avoided details about the supporting cast, and it seems that it’s an effort from allowing us to identifying too much with them. Was that a deliberate effort to cut us off, or a simple edit for a stronger narrative? I don’t know – but what is clear that there is a world view that emerged from this movie as a result of this skew. As light and delightful as the movie was, I think this is a pattern that is worth our consideration.
